Identity
by BassDS
Summary: After dealing with an akuma attack one night, Adrien begins to ponder on who his beloved Ladybug really is, and wonders if she's actually been closer to him than he thinks. The bandage atop Marinette's face doesn't help ease his speculation, either. (Criticism welcomed)
1. Ch1 The pieces lie where they fall

Hello, fellow Miraculous fans!

I'm BassDS, and I've pretty much been in the fandom going on two weeks; can you believe it was just a single picture a friend of mine drew that made me look this up, then next thing you know, I'm watching the episodes. Life can be kinda weird sometimes.

But anyway, I figured for my first venture into the fandom, I'd throw in my own little 'reveal' story and join the party, but as I do, one thing I just want to state, is that if anyone seems OC in any sort of way, or if it seems TOO straightforward, I apologize in advance. This is literally the first thing I've written for another fandom in eight years, all of them being spent in the Star Force series of the Mega Man franchise, so again, if anyone seems out of character for some reason, I'm sorry; I'm kind of leaving my safety zone here and venturing out into the unknown, so constructive criticism is welcome.

All I can say is, I am glad to be apart of this fandom, and I'm very lucky to be jumping on board right when things are starting out. So I hope you all enjoy this little story, so go ahead and dig right into the first small chapter of this VERY short story, because I've still got so much more on my plate to do.

...

Identity

Act I: The pieces lie where they fall

...

"Well, I know one thing's for sure; a garden is no place for THIS cat." Chat Noir said as he dodged the numerous prickly vines being aimed at him.

"Well, what do you expect? Animals and bugs are off-limits in Botanica's garden!" said the akuma-controlled woman as her eyes barreled down at him, the rose on her chest glowing lightly.

"Chat, keep her distracted while I go in for the rose!" Labybug called out as she managed to avoid several vines being sent her way as well.

"Easier said than done, here, my lady!" he replied as he used his baton to swipe away at the vines, only to get entangled with them.

Ladybug made her move as she leaped up toward Botanica and reached her hand out to pluck the rose off from her, but as she did, a vine rose up and collided with her face, knocking her back down to the ground, but in the end, Botanica no longer had her rose.

"Time to fertilize your garden!" Ladybug exclaimed as she crushed the rose, freeing the akuma butterfly from within as she brought her yo-yo out and captured it within its confines, purifying it of the darkness within it. "Bye-bye, little butterfly." she smiled as she watched if fly away.

"Gaaahhh...nnnooo...my garden!" Botanica cried out as she reverted back to normal, passed out and exhausted.

Chat watched the vines fade away as his baton became free and walked over toward Ladybug.

"Another exceptionally done job, my lady. You were absolutely purrrfect." he grinned lightly.

"Your puns are seriously giving me a migraine, Chat." she rubbed her forehead.

"Well, I have the purrrfect remedy for that." he said as he brought his face closer to hers.

"Not on your life, kitty."

"Had to try, you know." he smiled before his eyes looked over to a few scratches on her cheek, a small bit of blood visible on the wounds. "Might want to take care of that." he said as he looked at her.

Ladybug had no idea what he was talking about until she finally felt the small bit of pain the scratches caused. "Thanks, Chat. Didn't realize it to be honest. I must have really been caught up in the heat of the moment with the fight." she said, only to be interrupted by the beeping of her earrings, signaling she didn't have long left til she de-transformed.

"You go on home. I'll handle things here." Chat motioned to her to head out before the worst could happen."

"Such a gentlemen, tonight." she smirked. "Although, don't think that earns you extra points. Night, kitty." she said as she threw her yo-yo out to latch on to a pole and make her way to the rooftops.

Chat watched her leave, basked in the light of the moon as his lady made her way home.

"I'll keep trying as long as it takes." he said to himself as he tended to the woman as the sirens of police cars signaled that they were finally arriving on the scene.

...

"Oww..that stings!" Marinette yelped as she applied antibotics to the wounds. Sure the scratches looked minor, but better to take care of it now than to let it get infected later.

"Need some help?" Tikki asked as the small kwami floated over to her.

"If you don't mind." she said as Tikki gently placed the cotton to the wounds a few more times before grabbing a bandage big enough to cover both scratches and placed it atop the wounds.

"There. All better!" Tikki exclaimed as Marinette placed the cap back onto the bottle and went into the bathroom to put it away.

"Thanks, Tikki. How about a little snack before bed?" she said as she moved over to her desk and pulled out a small bag of cookies, giving one to her tiny friend.

"Gladly." Tikki beamed as she help the cookie in her small hands and began to lightly munch on it as Marinette pulled one out for herself and took a small bite as she looked up at her wall filled with pictures of nothing but 1 Adrien Agreste, completely lost in thought of the many fantasies rolling in her head between the two.

Tikki pretended not to notice, fighting back a chuckle at her friend's infatuation for the young model.

...

"Sweet Camembert, how I love thee..." Plagg said as he opened his mouth as wide as he could, literally shoving a whole wedge into his mouth.

"You're like a bottomless pit, you know that?" Adrien looked on at his kwami, head cupped in his hand as he eyed him.

"So what if I am? Got a problem with it?"

"No, I just hope it doesn't get to the point where you raid every piece of cheese out of the pantry and leave the cooks dumbfounded on how it could all completely vanish out of nowhere." Adrien stated.

"Nah. Won't happen..." Plagg responded, but then muttered to himself "Thanks for the idea though."

Adrien turned to look out his window at the clear Parisian sky lit with the light of the moon before he turned his attention back to a newspaper clipping of him and Ladybug...well, to be more precise: Chat Noir and Ladybug. He truly longed to find out who the girl was under the mask, but he respected her wishes on keeping their identities from one another.

He sigh as he looked down at his phone as the clock read 11:45 as he heard a light snoring sound coming from behind him, chuckling a bit at the sight of Plagg totally conked out with a bit of Camembert still lodged in his mouth as he attempted to remove it away from him, only for Plagg to subconsciously latch onto it.

"Alright, fine...sleep with it if you want." Adrien sighed as he looked on at the kwami before deciding it was time for him to sleep as well.

...

The next morning:

"Gotta hurry! Ugh! Can't believe I overslept!" Marinette groaned as she dashed through the hallway to make it to class.

"I tried waking you, but you kept rolling over." Tikki said from within the small opening of the purse around Marinette's waist.

"Save it for later, Tikki." she whispered through her teeth as she was nearing the corner of the hallway. _"Good...I'm going to make it, but barely!"_ she thought, but before she knew it...

BAM!

Marinette had been in such a rush, she had no idea what hit her until she found herself on the floor and wondering that the heck happened until she heard a groan in front of her, her eyes widening as she realized the object she ran into had been Adrien as he sat up from the impact.

"Adrien! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" she asked with concern and got up to help him up.

"I'm fine. No apologies needed. It was my fault." he said as he dusted his clothes off. "I was kind of behind on time and not watching my step." he added as he looked over to the young girl and noticed the bandage on her cheek...something about the placement upon seeing it bothered him.

"Umm...we...better get to class." she uttered out now that the realization that it was Adrien she ran into finally settled in as she rose to her feet and grabbed her bag.

Adrien only nodded as he got up and followed suit as they made their way to Ms. Bustier's with seconds to spare.

The day seemed to just drag on to Adrien as they all waited for the last few minutes of the school day to end. Adrien gathered his things as his mind trailed back to his morning collision with Marinette. Something seemed very off to him. He looked up to see Ayla talking with Marinette as they stood near the door waiting for the bell.

"Hey, Marinette?" he exhaled as he approached the two. "Just wanted to say I'm sorry about this morning. I really wasn't watching where I was going." he said.

Once more, like always whenever she was around him, Marinette became fidgety and nervous inside, but did her best to compose herself in front of Adrien. It felt like a curse in a fairy tale.

"No, I'm at fault too. I overslept and was just trying to get here on time; it could happen to anyone, right?" she managed to get out, her nerves starting to get the better of her.

Adrien eyed the bandage once more and took notice of its position. It couldn't...she couldn't be.

"Just wondering...what happened here?" he asked as he touched her cheek gently.

Alya could only hold back a chuckle and image what was going through her friend's mind right now; that her crush was ACTUALLY touching her cheek in a caring manner.

"Oh...I um...I..." Marinette scrambled to make an excuse as fast as she could. "I was in the park yesterday, and a ball that belonged to a few kids bounced into a rose bush, and I ended up bumping into a thorn when I was getting it back for them." she managed to get out. _"That sounds believable, right?"_ she thought to herself as she tried to keep her composure. No way in hell she could tell him she got it from fighting an akuma. "Why do you ask?"

Adrien thought for a moment as his eyes made contact with hers, and he found himself drawn in by the blue orbs...the same draw power the eyes of his Ladybug possessed.

"Oh...uh, no real reason. I was just curious." he said as he tried to take his mind off the thoughts in his head as the bell finally rang out to signal the end of the day. "I'll see you two tomorrow." he flashed a smile as Marinette's face began to glow red.

"Mari? Earth to Marinette?" Alya said as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to snap her out of her little trance.

"I am NEVER throwing this away." she muttered as she came back to reality, her fingers touching the bandage atop her cheek.

"This coming from the girl who had his daily schedule on a giant board at home; Yeah, you'd be crazy enough to keep it." Alya joked lightly, causing Marinette to turn red a bit.

"Alya!" she hushed toward her friend.

...

Adrien laid on his bed as he stared up at the ceiling, Plagg beside him on the sheets as he stuffed himself full of more Camembert; sometimes Adrien wondered if the kwami had a bottomless pit for a stomach. It would make sense, considering everything he would eat. But that was the last thing on his mind. All he could think about was Marinette and Ladybug, and the more he thought about it, he began to think about how similar they looked, but the contrast between their attitudes separated them even more. It really made him think.

Could his confident Ladybug and often-awkward-around-him Marinette REALLY be one in the same?

That bandage on her cheek didn't help much either. It only increased Adrien's speculation even further. It was placed in almost exactly the same spot where Ladybug had been hit by one of the vines the other night.

"Is she really..." Adrien murmured to himself.

...


	2. Ch2 Set in Motion

Hey everyone, BassDS here once more with the 2nd chapter of Identity, and to be honest, I intended this to be the last chapter...but screw it, let's drag it out a bit more for at least one more chapter. I was glad to get so much feedback on the first chapter, which really amazed me to be honest, I didn't think the first chapter would clock in at 500 views in just a day, but sure enough, it did. I'm glad you all found the first chapter enjoyable, and I hope this and the last chapter don't seem short, after all, I'm pretty much writing as I go, apart from thinking about how I wanted things to progress in this chapter while I was on my feet at work.

One thing I do want to address that I'm thinking about, while I do have my Shooting Star Lovers story to work on next after I finish this short story, I can set up the ending to make way for another story that takes place after this, and sure whatever I write, Season 2 will pretty much render the story as a blank, but hey, Hawkdaddy is tormenting us with a 5-6 month hiatus, so I might as well try. If that's something you all want to see, feel free to let me know.

Hell, I may even contribute to the 'sin' section of the fanbase so to speak, considering my previous mature works. (Oh yes, I've reached Miraculous Trash level now)

But anyway, enough of the waiting and the banter; On to Act II!

...

Identity

Act II: Set in Motion

...

A few days later, Adrien's suspicions were put to rest when the final piece of the puzzle quite literally walked by him.

He was seated at his desk when Marinette walked passed him towards her spot next to Alya. By chance, he had looked up and saw that her face bore no bandage now, and while at first glance her cheek appeared normal, he could make out the little cut marks left by the scabs of the small wounds. The cuts were also in the same random pattern as they had been the night they were made.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the realization finally settled into his mind: Marinette and Ladybug were one in the same.

" _It...it's really her. Marinette is Ladybug..."_ he thought to himself as he turned his head a bit to look at her from over his shoulder.

Class seemed to just fly by to Adrien, but that was the least of his worries. His mind had been spinning over and over with the knowledge of Marinette's secret, and he was feeling guilty about it. All the times of him asking Ladybug into letting him know who she really was and vice-versa, to her saying it was better off they didn't know who one another really was. He respected that wish like she wanted, but could he really blame himself for finding it out on his own and not asking her outright?

As the class filed out, Adrien made his way to the bathroom and checked every stall to see if it was completely empty before looking into the inside pocket of his over-shirt to wake Plagg up.

"Hmm...cheese time already?" the kwami yawned as he floated out and rubbed his eyes.

"Sorry, pal. There's somewhere I need to be, and it'll be much faster if we transform."

"You know I don't like changing on an empty stomach, Adrien." Plagg complained.

"I promise I'll make it worth the wait. Plagg! Claws Out!" Adrien called out as he transformed into Chat Noir and making his way out the nearby window as he jumped onto the rooftops above.

He looked out to the bright sky as he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"I just hope I'm not making a mistake by doing this..." he muttered to himself before dashing along the rooftops.

...

Adrien walked out from a back alley and onto the populated sidewalk as he made his way down to the corner, coming to the small bakery at the end, the small shop also serving as Marinette's home, with the lower level acting as the bakery her parents had ran for a good number of years.

Adrien walked into the small shop, a few people browsing around at all the different bread and pastries that littered the counters and the display case as the smell of the back kitchen leaked into the front, a large man helping one of the many customers as he wrapped up their purchase before his eyes diverted to the blonde.

"Ah...Adrien, wasn't it?" the man smiled as he move out from behind the counter. Hard to think such a man of his stature was Marinette's dad, but granted, despite his size, he was a very nice person, even if Adrien had only been here once before, not counting his little visits as Chat.

"Hello, Mr. Dupain-Cheng. I was actually wondering if Marinette was here. We have a project we're working on, and I was needing to talk with her on what we'll be covering." Adrien quickly thought up an excuse. He was actually amazed he came up with it on the fly that fast.

"Hahaha...no need for formalities, just Tom will do." he chuckled as he patted Adrien's shoulder. "Marinette's not home from school yet, but she'll be along soon. Would you like to wait around until she gets here?"

"Uh...yes, sure, that's fine. I don't mind." Adrien replied.

"If you'd like, you can wait up in our living quarters if you want. I'll send her on up when she arrives."

"Thank you, Tom." Adrien had to admit, it felt pretty awkward to be on a first-name basis with the man.

"There is one thing I want to ask you, though..." Tom began to speak.

"Wh...what would that be?" Adrien asked, a chill running down his spine, not knowing what it could be about.

"What is my daughter to you?"

At that moment, it was as if Hell literally froze over.

Adrien did his best not to show any weakness to the question, but what could he do? It practically came out of nowhere.

"Well..." he began to say. "To be honest, she's one of my first friends I've met since going to public school this past year, she's kind, caring, creative..." he continued on, his face turning a bit red. "She's someone I greatly treasure."

Tom could only smile.

"Sorry for putting you on the spot like that, my boy. Its the natural instincts of a father being protective over his little girl. I ask because almost all she talks about besides her designing is you. I can tell you mean a lot to her. I was the same way with her mother."

"That's alright. Perfectly understandable." Adrien said as he plucked up courage and tried to maintain some composure.

"I get the feeling this isn't about some 'project', am I right?"

Game Over. Guilty as charged.

Adrien could only look the other way a bit in embarassment as Tom chuckled a bit.

"Head on upstairs, and I'll send her up when she gets home."

...

"You know...I'm worried about Adrien. He's been kind of, aloof for the past few days." Marinette confided with Alya as she walked home.

"If you're worried, talk to him." Alya retorted.

"You know what kind of a mess I am when I'm around him, Alya! I'm a total train wreck!"

"Yeah, I've noticed. I swear, it's going to take a miracle for you to just confess to him. Use this chance to talk to him; get to know him better and calm your nerves when you're around him. Or do you want someone else to snatch him up?"

"Of course not. These things just take time..." Marinette defended.

"Uh huh. Yeah, sure."

Within Marinette's pouch, Tikki could only roll her eyes at Marinette's response. _'Oh, Marinette."_

Soon enough, the two came to the bakery as they entered, only a few people remaining in the store as Marinette walked over to her dad.

"I'm home, Daddy." she said as she hugged him tight.

"How was your day, dear?"

"Oh the usual. School this, school that." she replied. "Did you need any help, because me and Alya were going to go head to my room and go over a few notes today for a test tomorrow."

"I've got things under control down here, but you do have a visitor waiting upstairs."

"I do?" she asked puzzled, wondering who could even been waiting for her.

"Yes, it's that nice boy from school, Adrien. I told him he could wait until you got home."

Alya was speechless. She didn't know what to say, but as for Marinette, a mortified look was on the young girl's face. She could only imagine what was going on in her mind. Why was Adrien here?

" _Adrien is here...upstairs...wait...is he in my room?...Oh god no...The pictures! The chart! My computer desktop!"_ Marinette's mind was racing like a lab rat as she fought back the urge to scream her lungs out.

"Well...have fun...call me when you get the chance." Alya muttered as she patted her friend's back and made her way to the door.

"Don't leave me here." Marinette whispered to her, but to no avail: Alya had already made a bee line for the door.

"You alright, dear?" Tom asked. "It's probably not best to keep him waiting."

"Yeah...you're right. I'll get to that." she forced out as she made her way towards the stairs. _"I'd rather put this off as long as I can...why is he even here anyway?"_

...

Adrien looked at the wall of framed photos as his eyes gazed all over, one frame holding a picture of Marinette when she looked to be about three, riding atop her dad's shoulder, while his eyes landed on another one of her hair raised in a bun in a class photo.

"Gotta admit, she pulls that look off." he murmured to himself as he continued to look around before a voice called out to him.

"Adrien?"

He turned his head to see Marinette standing at the top of the stairs; her blue eyes honed in on his pure green eyes.

"H...hey. I was wondering when you'd show up." he calmly said.

"Why...why are you here?" she asked as she tensed up a bit.

"I was needing to talk to you. It's important." he said as he averted his eyes a bit, his heart thumping as he spoke. "Think we can talk in your room?"

" _My room...right...you mean my shrine that's decorated all over with your pictures and what-not."_ she thought to herself. But luckily she decided to use this to her advantage. "Sure...can you give me a minute or so? I left it in bit of a mess this morning."

"I can help if you-"

"No, no, I got it. It won't be long." she forced out a laugh as she made her way to her room and calmly closed the door. Only then did she begin to dash around and try to remove everything related to the blonde in sight. She hid the numerous pictures away in her desk, flipped the chat over to the other side and pushed it against the wall, and quickly turned off her computer screen as she began to relax, only for her concentration to be broken by Tikki.

"Marinette, just calm down a bit."

"I can't calm down, Tikki, I'm a nervous wreck inside! I wasn't expecting to come home to this. Why is he even here!?"

"Use this to your advantage, Marinette, just trust me; everything will be okay. Repeat after me."

"Everything...will be okay..."

"Just be positive. Use this chance to tell Adrien how you really feel." she smiled as she went over to one of the desk drawers and hid inside of it. "I'll be right here."

Marinette nodded as she walked back to the door and tried to calm herself down once more.

"Everything will be okay...everything will be okay..." _"Who am I kidding!? EVERYTHING IS NOT OKAY! I'd rather deal with Chat's flirting than this."_

Whether she was ready or not, Marinette opened the door as she looked out and her eyes landed on Adrien once more. "Alright, room's straightened up; you can come in."

"T...thanks." he said as he walked toward the door and move past her, his eyes landing on the fading scratch marks atop her cheek. The very marks that got him into this mess and led to him finding out who Ladybug was.

"So...what brings you here?" she asked as she closed the door and moved towards him as she offered him her computer chair to sit on as she took her bed.

"I was wanting to talk to you about something...it's been on my mind for the last few days, and it's just been eating me up inside. It's something I shouldn't know, but at the same time, I'm glad that I do."

"Well...that's bit of a conundrum, isn't it?" she replied. "Is that why you haven't been yourself lately?"

"Yes...yes it is."

"I have to admit, I'm curious to know what this is, but it's probably for the best if I don't." she said timidly.

"You...already know, actually." Adrien responded.

"I do?" she asked, a bit puzzled.

"You made me promise not to push the subject...said it was for the best. As much as it pulled at me to know, I respected that."

"Adrien...you aren't making any sense. I don't recall saying anything like that to you."

"You did to the other me, Marinette..." he said as he looked up at her. "You said it to Chat."

Marinette had no response. She was just completely frozen in shock as everything in her head finally clicked.

"I know it's you, my lady."

...


	3. Ch3 Love

Hey everyone, BassDS here with the final chapter of Identity, and before we go ahead and dive right in, I just want to say if anything sounds off to you, I am truly sorry. See, the way I work, 8 times out of 10, I plan everything out in my head, but when I actually start to write it, and try to adapt the mood the moment is suppose to set, sometime it works, and sometimes it doesn't, and I REALLY hope this scene between Adrien and Marinette seems as natural as it can be. Like I said at the start, I've been walking into uncharted territory in my case, and I hope I did my best here.

But anyway, as I said before in the last chapter, if you'd like me to continue a storyline based off of this story, please let me know; I mean, yeah, I'll more than likely end up doing it regardless, but I love getting input from others. It's my job, and that's what my writing is for: catering to all of you.

But, enough with the delay, this is BassDS logging out, and I hope you all enjoy the ending to "Identity".

...

Identity

Act III: Love

...

Marinette felt as if all the blood drained from her face. Just the way he said those words, the same tone Chat would say them with. It all just matched, but she almost didn't want to believe it.

"Me? Ladybug? I think you've been daydreaming in class." she said, trying to throw him off. "I'm nothing at all like Ladybug."

"Maybe I would have believed that at one point...but you ARE Ladybug, Marinette. The proof is in plain sight." he said as he looked toward her and extended his hand out and touched her cheek, his thumb caressing the healed scars. "You got these from the akuma we fought a few days back. And when we ran into the hallway the next day and I saw that bandage on your face...that's when I began to go over everything." he said as he got up and walked towards her balcony door and looked outside, his hand pressed against the glass. "Apart from me, you're the only one of our classmates that was never forced into becoming an akuma...can't believe I was too blind to realize the similar hairstyles, let alone the hairbands..." he chuckled a bit. "...but more importantly, it's your caring nature that shows and tells me you're the Ladybug that I love."

Those words just sort of stung Marinette in the heart. It was Ladybug that Adrien loved, and not her. It felt as if the world and future she longed for with him was crumbling at the foundations.

"So it's just Ladybug you love, is that it?" she said as she began to choke back on her tears.

Adrien could sense the sad tone in her voice as he moved back over to her and pulled her into his arms.

"Yes, I love Ladybug, but it also means I want to love the person under the mask. I want to love the person Ladybug is when she ISN'T being a hero. I want to love you...that's the truth." he said as he moved back and wiped away the lines of tears from her face. "You believe me, don't you?"

"I just don't know what to believe right now..." she said as she turned her head away from him and looked down. "Tell me...if Ladybug never existed, would you have felt the same way about me as you do now?"

Adrien moved his hand atop hers as she gripped her pants in its grip before using his hand to move her head back up.

"I met the beautiful girl who lacked an umbrella on a rainy day regardless, didn't I? The girl whose always sticking up for others and what she believes in. And I know now that I mean a lot to you...now that I know that you're Ladybug, that moment you were willing to give Volpina your Miraculous to save that illusion of me makes just so much more sense. I see now why you were always shoving away Chat's advances." he smiled gently. "Even if we didn't lead the lives of heroes, I'm positive I would have fallen for you...that same caring nature that made me fall for Ladybug."

"Adrien..." she said as more tears were starting to swell up. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you for the past year...something that's been hard for me to get out..." she turned her head to look into his emerald green eyes. "I...I love you..."

"Love you too...bugaboo..." he softly replied as he moved in to capture her lips into his, kissing her tenderly as her arms wrapped around him, her hands moving through his blonde locks as they finally broke the kiss, only to nip at the other's jawline before completely parting.

Tikki, on the other hand, could only gaze on, happy for her Ladybug at long last.

"I've dreamed of that for so long..." she said as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Not bad for my first-ever kiss..." he joked.

"Mmm...about that...technically, that's our second kiss..." she replied blushing madly as her mind thought back to Valentine's Day.

"Wait...we've kissed before?" he asked as his eyes widened.

"I'll tell you later, kitty..." she said as she hugged him tightly in her arms, only to feel something move against her chest.

"Mind not suffocating me in here!?" blurted out a voice that made Marinette pull back.

"What was...?"

"Uh oh...sorry Plagg." Adrien said as he opened up his shirt pocket to let him out.

"It was bad enough I had to hear the mushy-mushy stuff, but getting crushed is a totally different thing." he complained.

"Plagg, honestly, you have no sense of compassion." Tikki barked out as she flew out from the dress toward the cat-like being.

"I do have a compassion; for cheese, of course, for your information."

"What? No hellos? Right...I keep forgetting how difficulty you are to deal with." she huffed as Adrien and Marinette giggled at the two.

"He's Plagg." stated Adrien.

"Tikki." Marinette smiled.

"And I am HUNGRY."

"You know, you'd think after 5000 years I would get used to his behavior..." Tikki sighed.

"Think you got something for him? Otherwise he's just going to complain on the way home." Adrien asked.

"I'm sure I can find something." she giggled as she got up and headed towards her door.

"By the way...when you get back, think you can tell me about that kiss?" he gave a cat grin toward her. "I purromise I'll be good."

"Kitty..." she chuckled lightly.

...

The two of them sat atop the roof as they watched the sun begin to set behind the Eiffel Tower, being able to see only its shadow silhouette as the breeze blew past them lightly.

"Adrien...there's something I want to know. Why is it when we're at school, you act normal, but of all the times I've been near you as Chat, it's like you're a completely different person?" Marinette asked as they gazed out to the sky.

"Well, to be honest, being Chat Noir has given me the chance to be someone other than the teen model in all the magazines and papers; to be as carefree as my heart desires..." he began. "And really, I guess just finally act how I really feel inside and not worry about anything...something I haven't been able to experience ever since Mom..." he began to say before stopping.

"I'm sorry..." Marinette replied as she grip his hand in hers. "She was beautiful though..." she said, referring to the portrait she had seen.

"Don't be." he comforted her. "I think of her every day...I just wish I knew what happened, but Dad...I feel like he knows more than he lets on."

"You know what I think?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"I'm sure she's proud at what you've become...I just know it."

"I wonder what she would say about me having a girl as lovely as you clinging to my arm." Adrien grinned.

"I think she'd be happy that her son is." Marinette replied as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Because I know I am with you."

"The feeling's mutual." he paused. "What about you? Why were you so confident around me when you're Ladybug and not yourself?"

"Love at first sight, really. I was head over heels for you. I wanted to tell you how I felt, but I was always scared of how you would react, being rejected, but as Ladybug; behind the mask, I was confident around you. All that nervousness seemed to just vanish."

"That's all behind us now." Adrien replied as he rested his head atop hers as they stared out into the horizon.

"It's so beautiful."

"Yeah, but it doesn't compare to you." he added as he entwined his hand with hers.

Down below back in Marinette's room, Tikki and Plagg sat atop the desk watching the two of them enjoying the sunset.

"I'm so happy for Marinette." Tikki proclaimed happily.

"I'm just glad I can stop hearing him talk about Ladybug all the time now." Plagg stated as he bit into his wedge of Camembert.

"So inconsiderate." Tikki said as she shook her head.

...

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Adrien said as he and Marinette walked toward the door. "And hey, listen, why don't you stay home tonight? I'll handle the nightly patrol." he whispered to her.

"Such a gentleman. Thank you." Marinette replied.

"It's my paw-leasure, my lady."

"Guess I'm going to have to get used to those puns, aren't I?"

"You know it." Adrien responded.

"Good night, Adrien." she said as he headed out the door.

"Oh, by the way, Mari..." he said as he turned to her.

"Hmm?" she motioned before being cut off by another tender kiss.

"I'm really glad it was you..." he said as his eyes met with hers.

"Glad to make you happy, kitty." she replied as she kissed his cheek before finally letting him make his way home, watching until he was out of her view.

From above on the 2nd floor, Tom and Sabine watched from above at the scene that unfolded before them, happy for their daughter.

"It feels like just yesterday I was bouncing her on my knees..." Tom uttered out to his wife.

"They really do grow up so fast." Sabine lamented softly.

Down the street, Plagg popped out and landed atop Adrien's head as he walked home. "So, feel better knowing who Ladybug is now?"

"I do...and really, for the first time in a long while, I'm really happy, Plagg." he confided in the kwami.

"Good. Maybe now I can get some sleep without you saying Ladybug's name over and over in your sleep." he yawned lightly.

"Watch it, or you're losing your evening cheese." Adrien shot back.

"You wouldn't..."

"Try me, buddy."

...

The next morning, Alya and Nino could hardly believe the sight they had just seen.

Chloe had been waiting in front of the door for Adrien to show up, wanting to present tickets to him for an event this weekend for just the two of the them. Her world literally got turned upside down when Adrien and Marinette entered the classroom hand in hand; completely shocking the blonde when she asked why he was holding hands with the klutz, to which Adrien replied that the so-called klutz was his girlfriend. They could see Chloe's eye twitching violently from the response.

"Did...did I really just see that happen? I didn't, did I?"

"Oh you did, Nino." Alya said happily as Adrien and Marinette sat next to each other. "And it's about freaking time."

...


End file.
